The present invention relates generally to coiled electrical wire and, more particularly, to a device for use in unwinding a re-winding a length of coiled electrical wire.
Electrical wire used in the rough free wire construction of residential and commercial buildings is available for use either wound on reels or wound in a coiled configuration. To remove a length of wire that is wound on a reel, an electrician will usually mount the reel on some type of a holder so that it can rotate and then pull the wire from one end. Because the reel is rotatably mounted, as the electrician pulls on the end of the wire, the reel will rotate causing the wire to unwind from the reel in a relatively straight (i.e. not spiraled) configuration. As one can well imagine, electricians prefer to work with wire that is straight rather than spiraled because, in the course of installation, spiraled wire will very often get tangled as it is being threaded through very narrow holes or around beams or other obstructions.
Despite the fact that wire on reels unwinds straight, most electricians choose not to use the wire on reels because it comes in larger lengths than coiled wire, is heavier and more bulky to handle than coiled wire and is often more expensive. Instead, most electricians use coiled wire (also referred to as Romex or boxed coils). The problem with coiled wire is that, unlike wire on reels, there is no quick and easy way to straighten out the wire as it is being unwound. If the electrician simply reaches into the box holding the coil and pulls out a length, i.e. a handful of coils or turns, the portion grasped will remain coiled (i.e. spiraled) when it is let loose and will not become straight. Because, as noted above, coiled wire is not very desirable for use when in a spiraled form, the electrician must in one way or another manually unspiral the wire so that it is straight, a few turns at a time, usually by straightening each turn as it is being unwound. As can be appreciated, this process is cumbersome and extremely time consuming.
Another problem associated with using coiled wire, as compared to wire on reels, is that of re-winding a length of wire that has already been unwound for storage or other like purposes. With reels, the electrician rewinds the unwound wire by simply rotating the reel in the direction opposite to the direction used to unwind the wire. In contrast, the electrician who wishes to rewind a length of unwound and straight coiled wire must manually deform the wire into loops of diameters comparable to those that originally existed and then in some way stack them one on top of the other and then place the stack of coils in a box or other container.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for use in assisting a person in unwinding or re-winding coiled electrical wire.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in assisting a person in unwinding or re-winding coil wire which is easy to manufacture.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in assisting a person in unwinding or re-winding coil wire which can be mass produced.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in assisting a person in unwinding or re-winding coil wire which is easy to operate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for use in assisting a person in unwinding or re-winding coil wire which has a minimal number of parts, which is easy to assemble, which is easy to use and which is portable.